Why are so many breastfeeding mothers pumping??

Question

I just don't get it. Unless a mother is returning to work, then why would you pump your milk, other than the occasional night out or whatever?

It seems that so many moms are pumping and asking questions about "Am I making enough milk?"...

I've never had a problem not knowing that my children are eating X ounces, so why is it so important for others? What am I missing here?

Answer 1

maybe this is the first time their breast feeding, maybe their older children were bottle fed. when u bottlefeed ur baby u pay a lot of attention and keep track of how many oz.'s they have as they grow. you can see when they don't have much of an appetite due to illness or teething. you can gauge how soon they should be ready to eat again by how much they had at their last feeding. not having that information takes some getting use to

Answer 2

Well, I've seen some moms that don't want to feed their babies directly.

I do keep some in the freezer in case I have to leave for sometime without my daughter, but I've never been worried about the ounces, she growing steadily and very healthy! Plus the amount of milk you can get with a pump is not even close to the real amount the baby gets with suction, no need to add extra stress.

Interesting question!

Answer 3

I think in this formula day and age it is hard for a women to feel like her baby is getting enough to drink. They see a baby being fed 8 ounces and then think wow there is no way to my baby is getting that much and then get worried and pump. I know that my children were all satsified with just my breast and I could never pump more than an ounce when I did for the occasional afternoon away. I just didn't produce as well with the pump.

Answer 4

Women pump more because more women work and generally fathers are taking a more active role in childcare.

I think it's perfectly normal to wonder, "Is my baby getting enough milk? Enough sleep? Am I doing this right?" With all the crap on the internet, it's no wonder that people second guess their instincts. 100 years ago, you probably did it the way your mother or aunts did, and that was that.

Answer 5

I don't know about anyone else, but I started pumping because my baby went on a "nursing strike" and was refusing to breastfeed. I simply had to.

When I emotionally fell apart because my baby wouldn't breastfeed, I joined a support group and found out that this is incredibly common. LOTS of other moms started pumping because they were having problems breastfeeding too.

It seems that a lot of people who worry a lot about doing things right run into problems because the stress carries to the baby and the baby stops nursing well. So, there are a lot of moms out there that want to give their baby breastmilk, but have to pump to get them to take it and are worried that they are feeding their baby enough.

I know that's not everybody, but I know there are a lot of us out there. Its been 4.5 weeks now and my baby still won't take the breast, so I'm pumping away!

Answer 6

I breastfed my son and when he first started to sleep through the night without waking for a feed, I would pump first thing in the morning to relieve pressure so to speak. If I was engorged he would get too much too quick and would sometimes throw up so I had to pump first.
I then usually gave him the milk via bottle at his early evening feed allowing me to put him to bed easily and this left me more time to cook dinner and spend time with the rest of the family.

Answer 7

With my first son - after a scary c-section - I pumped and froze my milk because I had a fear that I wouldn't be around. I wanted to be prepared for anything.

I know one mom who has an overproduction and she pumps - and donates the excess. (She has one lucky baby!)

Then there are those that are trying to increase their milk supply by nursing and then pumping additionally.

Answer 8

Many mothers pump to increase the milk production or so they can freeze the supply. I am a stay -at-home mommy and when my daughter was nursing, I pumped so my husband could be included in her feedings and care(It's nice to get to sleep a little longer at night or in the morning, that way hubby gets to have some "quality time" with baby too!) Trust me, when you need a little time for yourself or you need to increase milk supply(for whatever reason), you too would pump!

Answer 9

I express for several reasons.

I started because I needed my husband to give a bottle once a night in the first few weeks so that I could get more than 2 hours sleep. But then my midwife decided to 'help me' to latch my son on, I was to scared to point out that my son was chewing my nipple so badly I was bruised. So after she had gone I was ready to give up on breast feeding all together, but the pump allowed me the chance to continue making milk, to continue feeding my son breast milk and for my nipples to heal.

Then came the problem of leaving the house. I realised that I was not comfortable breastfeeding in public, (or in fact in front of anyone except my mum or my husband) so I choose to express a bottle for when I go out.

That means the expresser is used for days out, and for my husband to do a feed at night. Approx 2-3 expressed bottles a day, but I use breastflow bottles to ensure my son doesn't get use to a bottle and still sucks as if he is on the breast.

In my opinion so long as the baby is getting breast milk rather than formular then the recepticle is unimportant and if expressing is allowing that to happen for some mothers then breast pumps are doing their job.

Answer 10

Good question! I never pumped UNTIL I went back to work... I just knew my baby was getting enough because he was satisfied, was pooping/peeing enough, etc. A lot of women mess up breastfeeding by pumping. They diminish their supply.